He Said, She Said
by pearly-mist
Summary: The Girl's Choice Valentine's Dance is drawing near and it's so obvious to everyone who Sakura should ask. Or is it? There's less than a week left and Sakura and Syaoran's friends are running out of time to set them up! SxS, ExT, CxT


**He Said, She Said**

"Calculus, English, Japanese..." Sakura slid out several books from her locker, trying to remember which subjects she had homework for that day. _Hopefully I didn't forget anything_. She watched Tomoyo wave goodbye to some girls in her art class and approach slowly, a bright smile lighting up her face.

"So," Tomoyo said, as Sakura finally closed her locker, "the Valentine's Day Ball is coming up. Girl's choice. Who are you going to ask?"

Unconsciously, Sakura's eyes strayed to her left, where an amber eyed boy was busy stuffing his soccer boots into his locker and laughing with several of his friends. One of them caught her staring and whispered something to the boy, who turned to meet her eyes. Blushing, Sakura looked away quickly and busied herself zipping up her bag. "I don't know."

Tomoyo had seen the whole exchange, but she feigned ignorance. "Oh really...that's a pity." She twirled a strand of dark hair around her fingers slowly, pretending to be lost in thought. "Hey," she said suddenly, as if the idea had just crossed her mind, "I heard from Eriol that _Syaoran_ doesn't have a date yet. Maybe you two could go together."

Sakura turned her head slightly so that Tomoyo wouldn't see the blush spreading rapidly across her face. "Well, have _you_ asked _Eriol_ yet?" Sakura shot back.

Tomoyo grinned widely, knowing that Sakura was just trying to direct the conversation away from herself. "I asked him last week."

"And?"

"He said yes. So," Tomoyo pressed on, "now all I've got to do is worry about _your_ date."

Sakura swung her bag onto one shoulder and began quickly making her way down the school corridor, giving the group of boys huddled around the lockers a wide berth. As she headed towards the car park, though, she couldn't help sneaking another glance at them, one last time.

And that's how she noticed that Syaoran was still staring at her with a level gaze, a hint of a smile on his lips, and his expression unreadable.

* * *

"That was a good game, guys," Syaoran praised as he turned the dial on his locker.

Eriol laughed. "Yeah, and it would've been even _better_ if Yamazaki here hadn't tripped over his own huge feet in the last five minutes."

Takashi's mouth was already forming an indignant protest when he spotted Tomoyo and Sakura several lockers down the hallway, gathering their books and preparing to head home. He raised his hand, about to shout out a greeting, until he noticed that Sakura was rather openly staring at Syaoran. Grinning, he elbowed Syaoran in the ribs and whispered, none too quietly, "Hey Li, Sakura's checking you out again."

Syaoran just rolled his eyes. "If Sakura was staring at me every time you said she was, Takashi, she'd probably have memorised every single line on my face by now." Only, even as he said this, Syaoran couldn't help stealing a furtive glance in Sakura's direction – and, sure enough, she was looking at him timidly as Tomoyo leaned against the locker behind her, shooting Syaoran suggestive looks. Sakura broke away from the gaze first, her cheeks colouring as she turned to say something to Tomoyo.

"Has she asked you yet?" Eriol inquired.

"Nope." Syaoran gave Eriol a strange look. "You make it sound like she's obliged to."

"And you make it sound like you don't _want_ her to be obliged to."

"Well, _should _I want her to be?"

Eriol fixed him with such a penetrating stare that Syaoran almost wished he hadn't said that out loud. Takashi, on the other hand, was watching the exchange with a hint of amusement in his eyes. He kicked the ball against the row of lockers and met Syaoran's eyes in a moment of rare seriousness. "Sakura's a nice girl, Syaoran, but she's as naive as hell. I can name at least a dozen guys in this class who would do pretty much anything to be her date." He nodded towards two boys who were leaning against their lockers further down the hallway, nudging each other and eyeing Sakura up and down. "If you don't make your intentions clear, she'll end up asking one of them, and then they'll probably date and eventually get married and have children, and you will spend the rest of your life wishing that you hadn't done something to make Kinomoto Sakura notice you."

At this point, Sakura had finished packing her bag and was making her way towards the exit, her eyes focused firmly on the door; she was clearly avoiding the three boys as much as she could without making it seem obvious.

Eriol turned to Syaoran and said, in a low voice, "You've got to stop kidding yourself, Syaoran. We all know how you feel about her. It's about time you worked out what she thinks of you."

Syaoran was leaning against the row of lockers pensively, considering what Eriol had told him, when Sakura turned around and met his eyes one final time. Her lips curved upward in a hesitant smile before, once again, she looked away and walked on with Tomoyo, shoving the doors open and heading home.

Takashi pushed himself off the lockers and jiggled his keys in one hand impatiently, motioning for Syaoran to hurry up. Syaoran just shook his head at his two friends as he shoved the last of his textbooks into the bag at his feet. "That," he said, clicking his locker shut, "was by far the girliest conversation we've _ever_ had."

* * *

Sakura was attacking that weekend's Calculus homework when her phone vibrated so violently at her elbow that it nearly fell off the edge of her table.

"Hello?" she answered, scribbling flowers down the margin of her exercise book absentmindedly.

"_Sakura_!" came Tomoyo's overexcited, high-pitched squeal. "What are you up to?"

"Um...just doing some homework."

"Oh."

"Why...was there anything you needed to talk about?"

"Not really..." Tomoyo paused for effect, playing on Sakura's curiosity.

"Oh..." Sakura trailed off, slightly baffled. "I guess I'll see you at school on Monday, then."

_Damn!_ Tomoyo shook her head and scowled into the phone. She'd forgotten how uninquisitive Sakura was. She didn't like to poke around in other people's business, so if someone told her they had nothing to tell, even if they were clearly lying, Sakura never pressed for more information. "Would you like to come have some lunch with me?" Tomoyo said quickly before Sakura hung up. "There's this really nice restaurant I've been dying to try out with you."

Sakura was a little surprised at the suggestion, but she could feel herself already giving in. The prospect of another afternoon struggling with her teacher's infamously hard trigonometric identities was not in the least bit tempting. "Sure. Where is it?"

"Only about a five minute drive from my place. Get ready and I'll pick you up in fifteen."

Half an hour later, the girls were standing in front of _Masterclass_, a brightly lit pizzeria with smartly dressed waiters bustling inside. Tomoyo fiddled with her handbag while Sakura watched her, a little confused. "Are we waiting for someone, Tomoyo?"

Tomoyo blinked sweetly at her. "I was on my way to your place when I saw Eriol walking home, so I suggested that he join us. You don't mind, do you?" She plastered on what she hoped was an apologetic expression to hide the craftiness dancing in her amethyst eyes.

"Of course not! Oh, here he comes..." Sakura raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun reflecting off the hood of Eriol's car. "Is that...did he bring _Syaoran_ with him?"

"Oh!" Tomoyo fluttered her eyelashes innocently. "I guess Syaoran must have been hungry, too."

Sakura eyed Tomoyo suspiciously, but she didn't say anything because the boys had already approached them and besides, she was too hungry to care. Eriol pushed the door of the restaurant open and the smell of oven-baked pizzas got Sakura's stomach growling in anticipation.

"Sakura, why don't you and Eriol find us a table while Syaoran and I get the menus?" The smile on Tomoyo's face was practically angelic.

Syaoran just chuckled as he watched Eriol lead Sakura to a table towards the back of the restaurant, whilst Tomoyo headed towards the counter. She wasted no time at all – as soon as Sakura was out of earshot, she gave Syaoran a passing glance to make sure he was behind her and stated confidently, "So. I heard from Eriol that you haven't got a date for the dance yet."

Syaoran blinked, a little taken aback by Tomoyo's forwardness. "Yes. Why-"

Tomoyo stopped walking and looked directly at him, her expression serious. "Can you answer me this one question? Truthfully."

Syaoran nodded uncertainly. _What am I getting myself into_?

"Do you," Tomoyo said slowly, "like Sakura?"

Syaoran opened his mouth to reflexively deny any feelings for Sakura, before he hesitated. He _had _promised to be honest. And he knew, deep down, that he could hide his feelings from Sakura, but he was an idiot if he thought he could fool Tomoyo. "Yes," he answered finally. Tomoyo smiled, looking pleased. Syaoran raised an eyebrow and picked up two menus. "How did you know?"

Tomoyo folded her arms across her chest and smiled again, a knowing –almost smug – expression on her face. "Most girls can tell when a guy is into us, Syaoran." She caught the hint of amusement in the way his lips curved upward slightly. "Except," she added, "Sakura. Which means that it's up to you now, to get things moving between the two of you." And with that comment hanging in the air, she grabbed the menus off Syaoran and moved gracefully towards the table Eriol and Sakura had saved for them.

* * *

Sakura sat down comfortably across from Eriol and slid her purse under her chair. She glanced in what she hoped was a surreptitious manner at Tomoyo and Syaoran and then looked back at Eriol to see him hiding a smile behind his glass of water. _Oops_, she thought, _caught again_. She cleared her throat and smiled graciously. "So...you and Tomoyo are going to the dance together, huh?"

Eriol nodded his confirmation and took another sip of water. "Takashi's going with Chihahru, right?"

Again, Eriol nodded.

"Is...who's Syaoran going with?" Sakura pretended to act disinterested, as if she'd just strayed upon this question in an attempt to make small talk.

Eriol smiled wider, seeing right through her nonchalant façade but deciding to humour her anyway. "Would you believe? He hasn't got a date yet."

Sakura continued playing with her napkin, allowing a couple of seconds to pass before reacting. "Really?"

Nodding, Eriol watched Sakura carefully to gauge her reaction. "He's waiting for a certain someone to ask him."

"Oh." Sakura blushed, keeping her eyes lowered. When she finally raised them again, she looked so crestfallen that Eriol almost told her the truth to put her out of her poor, naive misery. But he spotted Tomoyo and Syaoran approaching quickly and he clamped his mouth shut, eyeing Sakura apologetically. _Besides_, he thought to himself, _this isn't my story to tell_.

* * *

Eriol climbed off his exercise bike and headed over to the weights, puffing from the physical exertion. He paused momentarily by the treadmills, where Syaoran was running, with music pulsing from the headphones in his ears. "You know, Syaoran, Sakura was asking about you the other day." Syaoran just cranked up the speed on his treadmill, choosing not to answer. Eriol smiled good naturedly, knowing that Syaoran wasn't buying any of it. "She wanted to know if you had a date for the dance yet." Again, he flicked his eyes towards Syaoran, who was still frowning at the monitor and ignoring his stream of comments. "I told her that you were waiting for someone in particular to ask you, and she looked devastated. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's clear that she wants to ask you, yet she's not at all confident of your feelings towards her. So who's fault is that?"

"I can't believe that we're talking about this again, Eriol. Will you just drop the subject?" Syaoran groaned in frustration and decided to call it quits on the treadmill after yet another girl on the elliptical directly across from him began blatantly checking him out and ogling at his impressively toned 6 foot frame. Eriol set aside his weights and followed Syaoran to the showers, wiping at his forehead with a thick towel. He spared a brief glance at the disappointed girl, who was staring at Syaoran's back with a longing expression. "She's kinda cute," he commented offhandedly, the corners of his lips twitching. "Why didn't you ask for her number?"

Syaoran pushed open a door and rolled his eyes. He could see exactly where this conversation was heading. "Not interested." He couldn't see Eriol's expression, but he could certainly sense how amused his friend was.

"Really. You know, when a guy turns down an attractive girl, there's only one explanation."

"And what would that be, Dr. Hiiragizawa?"

Eriol chuckled at the sarcasm in Syaoran's voice. "Guys aren't very adept at controlling their hormones when it comes to girls, so if a guy refuses a girl, the _only_ reason is that he's only got eyes for _another _girl."

There was a prolonged silence, filled by the sound of hot water running in the cubicles before Syaoran finally responded. "You know, Eriol, I distinctly remember telling you to stop reading those women's magazines. It's not healthy."

* * *

Sakura picked up her salad and orange juice and stepped to the side, patiently waiting for Tomoyo to decide on her lunch before making her way to the empty table at the back of the cafeteria –their usual spot. She'd barely taken a step though, when Tomoyo reached for her arm and pulled her back. "Eriol and the guys are playing soccer outside. Wanna come watch?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Sakura turned around and obliged. They spotted Chihahru, Naoko and Rika huddled under the shade of the biggest tree on the oval, giggling conspiratorially with their lunch boxes spread between them. Tomoyo shuffled into the spot on Chihahru's left and began digging around in her noodles. "Has anyone scored yet?"

"No." Rika looked up from disentangling Chihahru's salad. "Takashi nearly got one in, but Syaoran blocked it." Sakura could almost feel her heart rate increasing in response to his name and she bit her lip, willing herself to focus on her lunch.

"Gosh," Chihahru sighed dreamily, "they're _so_ hot."

"_Chihahru_!" Naoko tsked in a mock-reprimand, as Sakura stabbed a cherry tomato with slightly too much force to steady her heart, which was thumping erratically beneath her chest. She began wondering whether it was possible to have a heart attack just from thinking about your crush too much. _Well, Chihahru _did_ once break her leg because she jumped over a hurdle while trying to make eyes with Takashi at the same time. _

"Hey Sakura. _Sakura_!" Chihahru yelled loudly. "What on earth were you thinking about?" She shook her head and laughed.

"N-nothing," Sakura stuttered.

"We were just wondering if you wanted to get some cheerleading practice in."

"Uh, you guys go ahead. I'm going to finish my lunch first."

"Sure."

"Well," Tomoyo said, the corners of her lips still upturned at the corners, "_that_ went smoothly."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sakura tried to act disinterested but unfortunately for her, all hope of claiming innocence evaporated when barely a minute after the words left her mouth, the boys decided that a lack of clothing was in order and began peeling off their sweaty uniform shirts, one by one.

Even Tomoyo blushed uncharacteristically and let out a small gasp. Chihahru let her baton fall to the ground as she clapped her hands over her mouth and giggled feverishly. "Hey, no fair! You guys are distracting us from our cheerleading practice!" Takashi grinned at Chihahru and winked, flexing his biceps. Syaoran and Eriol just laughed and passed the ball back and forth while they waited for Takashi to stop unashamedly flirting with his girlfriend and get his mind back on the game. Sakura could feel her cheeks burning again, so she kept her eyes lowered discreetly and concentrated on getting her heart rate back to normal. _Don't look up, Sakura. Whatever you do, don't – Oh. Oh my. Where on earth does he find the time to keep up a six-pack like _that?_ Ok Sakura, stop it. Get your mind out of the gutt-_

Tomoyo glanced sideways and noticed Sakura's eyes were following Syaoran, who was currently dribbling the ball slowly down the field. She smiled secretively to herself, before stating, in the most casual, nonchalant manner she could muster, "You're staring at him again."

Sakura started, then blushed and began pushing around the lettuce pieces in her salad, her expression carefully rearranged into one of neutrality. "No, I'm not."

"_Sure_ you're not." A brief period of silence passed before Tomoyo added, her voice tight with frustration, "This argument can't last forever, you know. Either you admit that you like him, or you're going to have to prove to me otherwise." When Sakura remained silent, she continued, in a softer voice, "He really likes you, you know."

"And how would _you_ know?"

"I asked him," Tomoyo stated matter-of-factly.

Sakura dropped her fork. "You did not."

"I did." Sakura blinked back wordlessly, stunned into silence. "And I know for a _fact_ that you like him just as much." Sakura began to protest, but Tomoyo cut her off and pressed on. "He's always the first person you look at when you walk into a room, you're incapable of holding a normal conversation with him for more than five minutes at a time and you blush even when we're just talking about him," Tomoyo checked each of her accusations off on her fingers whilst Sakura watched on in disbelief.

"Why are _you_ so concerned with this, anyway?"

Tomoyo's voice was gentle when she answered. "Because I think the both of you could miss out on something really special if you let this go."

Another contemplative silence passed before Sakura finally sighed in defeat. "Look, I'll admit, I notice him more than Eriol, more than Takashi, more than any of the other guys. But that's just because he's always so nice to me, and he's so sweet and I just...I just feel really...I don't know, _safe _around him." Tomoyo looked at her, one eyebrow raised suggestively. "But it doesn't have to mean anything," Sakura insisted, unfolding herself from her sitting position.

"No," Tomoyo agreed, taking Sakura by surprise, "it doesn't. But," she added, as Sakura made her way towards Chihahru and Naoko, already out of hearing distance, "I can sure _make_ it mean something."

* * *

_Ring, ring_.

Tomoyo shot Sakura an apologetic look as her phone began ringing again for the fifth time in a row. "You should probably get that, it might be important."

Tomoyo nodded and smiled appreciatively, turning around to answer her phone. Sakura squinted at the foreign pastry in front of her and tuned out Tomoyo's conversation to give her some privacy. It wasn't long before Tomoyo flipped her phone shut, not quite hiding the devious glint in her eyes fast enough for Sakura to miss it completely.

"So, who just called you?"

"Eriol." Sakura stiffened, her suspicion heightened. Whenever Tomoyo and Eriol were together, there was bound to be some plotting involved. "He's going to the park and wants to know if we'd like to come."

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"No." Tomoyo smiled sweetly. "Come on, he's waiting for us outside."

Sure enough, after the girls split the Turkish roll between them and Sakura reluctantly agreed to accompany Tomoyo, they found Eriol waiting for them...with _Syaoran_, of all people, in the backseat. Tomoyo was still grinning like a madman as she called out, "Shotgun passenger seat!"

Sakura spent the entire ride fidgeting awkwardly; Syaoran stared out the window with a bored expression and Tomoyo and Eriol shut themselves off in an intimate conversation. They reached the park barely five minutes later, but it wasn't soon enough for Sakura – she practically leaped out of the car whilst Syaoran watched on, mildly amused. Tomoyo shot her a withering glare, unimpressed.

"Would you guys like some ice cream?" Eriol suggested, trying to suppress a grin from breaking onto his face.

"What a great idea!" Tomoyo's voice was dripping with excessive cheer – and before either Sakura or Syaoran had time to react, she'd dragged Eriol to the ice-cream truck, which was coincidentally on the other side of the park and was the furthest place they could possibly have a legitimate reason for travelling to.

Left alone with Syaoran, Sakura felt thoroughly abandoned and anxious, so she concentrated on being annoyed at Tomoyo instead of her nerves, which were making her feel like a dance troupe of butterflies was wreaking havoc in the pit of her stomach. Syaoran, on the other hand, was completely at ease; he just cocked an eyebrow in Eriol's general direction and leant back on his arms, letting a comfortable silence settle between them. Well, he made a sincere attempt to let a comfortable silence settle – barely a minute later, he sneaked a glance at Sakura and noticed that she was biting her lip and fumbling with her hands nervously. "So, Sakura...have you asked anyone to the dance yet?"

Sakura jumped at the sound of his voice. _How awkward_. "N-no," she stuttered. She lowered her head, allowing her shoulder length auburn locks to fall forward and shield her face from Syaoran's inquisitive eyes. "Has anyone asked you?"

"No," Syaoran responded casually, glancing into the distance and spotting Eriol near the kids playground, trying to help Tomoyo decide on ice-cream flavours.

"Are you going, then?"

Sakura's question caught Syaoran by surprise and he turned his attention back to her. He hadn't thought about that at all. "I guess so. I mean, it's all about having fun with some friends, right? A date's not compulsory, and no one's going to think anything of it if I go alone."

_Really? Is that what he thinks? Maybe he's just making excuses because he thinks I'm going to ask him..._

"At the end of the day," Syaoran continued, "you just have to do what feels right for you."

He gave Sakura a pointed look, but she was still looking down at her hands, busy trying to tame the thoughts racing through her head. _Right for me? What _is_ right for me? I know Tomoyo's right, I really do like Syaoran. So maybe I should just-_

She looked up suddenly. "Syaoran?" He smiled at her, indicating he was listening. "Will you...I'd really like you to...willyougotothedancewithme?"

Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, he leaned forward and placed a hand behind his ear. "Sorry, I didn't quite get that."

Sakura cleared her throat and this time, she raised her chin and looked at him directly in the eye. "Would you... like to go to the dance with me?"

Syaoran frowned, and in the split second it took him to form a response, Sakura was already scripting a dozen scenarios in her mind. _He doesn't want to go with me! He doesn't like me at all. Why did I say something like that, now things are going to be _so_ awkward betw-_

"Sakura. You shouldn't feel obliged to do anything."

His answer only confused her further. "Obliged? What do you mean?"

Syaoran sighed, running one hand through his hair absentmindedly. "I _know_ what Eriol and Tomoyo have been trying to do, even if you don't." He smiled in amusement. "I'm sure they mean well, but you shouldn't feel pressured into doing something you don't want to do."

Syaoran had given her _such_ an easy way out. All Sakura had to do was agree with him, change the subject, and move on. She peeked at his expression in her peripheral, and saw the sincerity plastered on his face. He wouldn't really have said all that just now if he didn't at least _care_ about her feelings, would he? And that was enough for her. Tomoyo was right – it was time to stop playing games and pretending that nothing was happening between her and Syaoran. Because something definitely _was_ happening, and they were both going to acknowledge it. Starting from now. "But Syaoran," Sakura began, her voice not betraying a hint of the doubt she felt underneath. "I _want_ this."

Syaoran blinked at her, surprised. She saw the beginnings of a smile, before his expression fell into one of concern instead. "Are you _sure_?"

Sakura took a deep breath. _This is it._ "Yes. I'm sure."

"Well then," Syaoran said, breaking into a grin, "I guess I've got myself a date for the dance."

"Really?" Sakura hesitated.

"Really. But," Syaoran added, causing uncertainty to flicker into Sakura's emerald eyes, "since we're all about doing the right thing today, I have a question of my own." The pause that followed seemed deafening, the sound of their heartbeats and nervous breathing amplified in the brief silence. "Will you be my Valentine, Sakura?"

She gave him a confused look, not quite understanding what he was asking. "Sure, I guess. I mean, we're going to the dance together, so..."

"I didn't mean just this year."

"Are you asking me out, Syaoran?"

"I guess I am." He smiled again, a hint of boyish mischievousness in the way his lips curled. "Are you going to answer me?"

"Well," she said, pretending to ponder the question, "I guess..." she glanced at him again and smiled wider, "I guess I'm saying yes."

_FIN_

* * *

This fic was inspired by the song, 'The Chase', which was written & composed by Trish Thuy Trang & Cardin Nguyen. It's all in English & it's very cute & schoolyard crushy, so I'd highly recommend having a listen to it. Originally, this fic was supposed to be a songfic, but the female side of the lyrics would put Sakura horribly OCC & as a result, the mood of this fic is markedly different to how I would've written it as a songfic. I may eventually write another version that's more true to the lyrics, once I start feeling more suicidal & I find myself a strong enough suit of armour to brave the flames :D

I'm terribly sorry about the length of this thing; I have an annoying habit of being unnecessarily long-winded, but I couldn't really see where I could cut the story up & to be completely honest, I didn't feel that this fic should be read as a multi-chapter. FYI, I do have a few outtakes (yes, it was originally going to be even *longer*...heh heh) & I might post them up someday, but they were booted out of the story for a reason (mostly because they weren't necessary for the progression of the story) & at the moment I don't see much of a reason to upload them. :)

Finally, I'd really, really, REALLY love to hear your feedback - what you thought I could've done better (possibly everything, that's ok, your feedback is still welcome :D), what I should've changed & if there's even the slightest chance that you liked it, I'd LOVE to hear that, too! It's really hard to comprehend just how much reviews are cherished, but even if you just drop by to send in a smiley face, that will most definitely make my day.

Thank you & I hope you enjoyed this oneshot :)

- Ngoc

_edit 5/10/2011 - _I can't believe it's been over a year since I uploaded this fic & I never noticed there was anything wrong with the breaks in the story. And obviously my lovely readers & reviewers were too nice to say anything! I'm so sorry about this, I have no idea how it happened since I'm usually really meticulous with my proofreading, even after I've uploaded. So hopefully this makes the story easier to read! :) Thanks again to those of you who reviewed - I'm not dead, just really busy with Pharmacy but there will be more fics coming up this Summer (hopefully!)


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